Thwarted Thai PM candidate Pita vows to run again: AFP interview

Former Thai prime ministerial candidate and ex-Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat poses for a photograph during an interview with AFP in Bangkok on Thursday, November 9, 2023. Thwarted Thai election winner Pita vowed on November 9 to run for prime minister again, defying conservative forces that blocked him from the job earlier in the year and despite a looming court case. - AFP

BANGKOK (AFP): Thwarted Thai election winner Pita Limjaroenrat vowed Thursday to run for prime minister again, defying conservative forces that blocked him from the job this year and despite a looming court case.

The 43-year-old led his Move Forward Party (MFP) to a shock first-place finish in May's general election, buoyed by young and urban Thais weary of a near-decade of military rule -- only to be prevented from becoming premier by royalist and pro-military blocs opposed to his reformist agenda.